Team Homan/Bottcher Wins Semifinal to Reach Trials Gold Medal Game

Team Rachel Homan/Brendan Bottcher (Beaumont, Alta./Spruce Grove, Alta.) used a patient strategy to secure a spot in the gold-medal game at the 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials.

The semifinal at Queens Place Emera Centre in Liverpool, N.S., remained close for nearly seven full ends, with Homan/Bottcher and Team Lisa Weagle/John Epping (Ottawa/Toronto) evenly matched. However, the pivotal moment came in the seventh end. Despite utilizing a power play, Homan capitalized on a mistake by Weagle, who inadvertently bounced her freeze attempt into the open. Homan then executed a stunning double takeout to score four points, giving Team Homan/Bottcher a lead they would not relinquish.

The final score was 8-6, and the win propelled Team Homan/Bottcher into the gold-medal game on Saturday at 2 p.m. Atlantic against the undefeated Team Jocelyn Peterman/Brett Gallant (Chestermere, Alta.).

The victorious team will represent Canada at the 2025 World Mixed Doubles Championship from April 26 to May 3 in Fredericton, N.B., and may also earn a spot at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, Italy.

“I’m really proud of us,” said Bottcher. “We’ve put in a lot of work this year and made the right moves, so it’s not surprising to be here, but I’m definitely grateful. We’re just looking forward to the final and doing our best.”

The first six ends were a back-and-forth battle, with the teams exchanging deuces in the first two ends and then trading single-point scores, leaving the game tied 4-4. In the seventh, Team Homan/Bottcher had last rock and a power play, but were on the defensive. Just when it seemed like they might be forced to settle for a single point, Homan’s crucial double takeout changed the game’s momentum.

“In mixed doubles, anything can happen,” said Bottcher. “We set ourselves up well in the early ends but couldn’t quite capitalize for a big end. We stayed level-headed, and then the big seventh end turned it around.”

Homan, a former Trials champion in four-player curling (2017), and Bottcher, the 2021 Brier champion, both have extensive experience in high-pressure situations. Homan believes that their past achievements will prove valuable in the final.

“Both of us have been in so many finals and big moments that we know we don’t need to change anything,” she said. “We just have to stay focused and stay together. In mixed doubles, you can get a lucky break, and it can turn things around. I’m excited to see what we can do in the final.”